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Morning Coffee: Habs flip from favourite to underdog versus Hurricanes at FanDuel
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If you wished for the Montreal Canadiens to become a playoff contender again, then you got what you wanted.
Back in December, nobody expected the Canadiens to go from lottery team to the precipice of a postseason spot when they were in the basement of the NHL standings.
Montreal was 11-16-3 through 30 games.
In 51 games since, the Canadiens have gone 28-15-8.
Lane Hutson has emerged as the Calder Trophy favourite, Nick Suzuki produced the most points by a Hab in three decades, and rookie phenom Ivan Demidov dazzled in his highly anticipated NHL debut.
There’s only one way this season could get any better.
After an anxious 48 hours, the city of Montreal is ready to erupt with one final opportunity to clinch a postseason spot on home ice tonight.
The fact that the Canadiens have flipped from a small favourite to a small underdog at FanDuel this morning won’t ease the tensions that Habs fans are feeling ahead of tonight’s regular season finale.
This is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday April 16th, 2025.
Habs Flip From Favourite To Underdog Versus Hurricanes At FanDuel
The Canadiens are knocking on the door of the playoffs.
After watching their team battle back into contention, Habs fans are hoping they won’t have to wait another day for that door to finally swing open.
Montreal can clinch a playoff spot with a point tonight.
Anything less would open the door to a potential nightmare scenario for Habs fans in which they could finished tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference but fall out of a Wild Card spot based on a tiebreaker rule.
The Canadiens could be found as high as -120 to beat the Carolina Hurricanes outright at FanDuel this morning.
That number has since flipped with Carolina now a small favourite at -120 to win tonight.
Suddenly, the buzz surrounding the team’s postseason hopes has transformed into concern about missing the playoffs altogether.
On April 10th, Montreal’s odds to make the playoffs were off the board at FanDuel following a six-game win streak that left the Habs eight points clear of their competition for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
Six days later, that gap is down to two points after the Canadiens failed to clinch in back-to-back games.
Montreal has gone 0-1-2 in its previous three games.
Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets have won four in a row and can control their own path to the playoffs with a little help from the Hurricanes tonight.
Columbus was +8000 to make the playoffs on April 10th.
That number represented a 1.2 per cent probability.
The Blue Jackets are down to +350 to make the playoffs at FanDuel this morning – a 22.2 per cent probability.
To stay alive, Columbus needs Carolina to win in regulation tonight.
If that happens, the Blue Jackets could clinch a playoff spot with a regulation win over the New York Islanders in their season finale on Thursday night.
It would be a cruel twist of fate if the Canadiens’ epic turnaround ended with them stumbling down the final stretch and missing the playoffs altogether.
I’ll bet against that nightmare scenario this morning.
For my FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll take Montreal to clinch a playoff spot with an outright win at even-money.
After an ugly finish in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night, the Habs will have plenty of motivation to redeem themselves tonight.
The Canadiens have proved their resolve throughout the long road from the bottom of the NHL standings to a playoff spot.
Demidov provided an immediate spark in his NHL debut.
If the rest of the team can channel that same intensity, Montreal should be able to get the job done against an opponent that will rest several veterans with nothing to play for in their final game of the regular season.
The Habs can’t afford to test fate and leave their playoff chances up to Patrick Roy and the Islanders on Thursday.
I’ll bet on the Canadiens to complete an epic turnaround and clinch a playoff spot with a win on home ice tonight.
Have a great day, everyone.